Off Topic: More Observations Of New York City

We just got back from a family trip to New York City. As I did after last year’s trip, I decided to share some of my observations of “The City.” Here goes:

Shea Stadium is well past its prime. My son and I went to our first Mets game, before Shea Stadium gets knocked down. While Shea wasn’t in great shape, it was better than Fenway Park. But right next door is the new stadium, Citi Field. When will the Red Sox get a new park?

In The Heights is wonderful. While we really, really enjoyed the Tony award-winning show “In The Heights,” we did not leave the theater humming any of the songs. With one rewrite, it could become an even more memorable sound track. We’d love to see Eminem take a shot at the lead role when star/creator Lin-Manual Mirand takes a break.

There’s always great food. New York has an endless supply of restaurants, but we still end up revisiting many of the ones we really like. Our favorite meals on the trip: breakfast at Norma’s, lunch at La Bonne Soupe, and dinner at Rosa Mexicano.

Virgin Records is the real deal. Times Square is always a vibrant spot. One of our favorite things to do there is to browse through Virgin Records. It always has an unbelievable collection of CDs and DVDs on sale for $10.

Street vendors make the walk interesting. There are makeshift stores on just about every other corner with handbags, sunglasses, and other apparel. While browsing through some $5 watches, some of the vendors whispered under their breath: Do you want to see some Rolexes? Where else can you get a Rolex for $25?

Zabars is worth an excursion. As always, we stopped by Zabar’s on the Upper West Side on our way out of town. We love to stock up on what we believe are the world’s best knishes and strudel.

Traffic can come out of nowhere. A Saturday in late August should be a good time to drive home from New York. But it wasn’t. It took us no time to get out of Manhattan, but over 2 hours to get to Connecticut. Interestingly, there did not seem to be any accidents or construction.

The bottom line: NYC is a great place to visit, but I couldn’t live there.

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I am a customer experience transformist, helping large organizations improve business results by changing how they deal with customers. As part of this focus, I examine strategy, culture, interaction design, customer service, branding and leadership practices. I am also a fanatical student of business, so this blog provides an outlet for sharing insights from my ongoing educational journey.
Simply put, I am passionate about spotting emerging best practices and helping companies master them. And, as many people know, I love to speak about these topics in almost any forum.
My “title” is Managing Partner of the Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting firm that helps organizations become more customer-centric. Our goal is simple: accelerate the path to delighting customers.
I am also the co-founder and Emeritus Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the success of CX professionals.